Was Verstappen out of the starting position? As the FIA ​​saw

Once again, the question of the position in the starting bracket raised questions. A lot of people questioned whether or not Max Verstappen was out of his position at the Australian GP restart and the photo that illustrates this article ran the nets. Let’s break this down a bit…

For this year, the FIA ​​has decided to tighten the grid positioning rules. In addition to the controls for starting before formal authorization, the entity defined that the cars should be exactly within the brackets painted on the starting grid. But now this point would also be penalized to the pilots.

After what happened to Esteban Ocon in Bahrain and Fernando Alonso in Saudi Arabia, with both being penalised, the FIA ​​made the decision to increase the bracket size by 20 cm for the Australian GP, ​​as well as increasing the nominations. It may seem like a lot of nonsense, but as the pilots end up having a reduced field of vision, the references end up being few and an error like that can be commonplace.

In the past, this whole process was controlled by the human eye. Currently, the FIA ​​installs 2 signal sensors (or known as Transponders) on the car: one in the nose, at the bottom and a second at the rear end, under the rain lamp.

Through these sensors, the stewards can see exactly when each car starts, as well as the positioning. In the cases cited here, the situation would fall under Article 48 of the F1 Sporting Regulations. The following cases are subject to penalty:

a) move before the starting signal is given, with such judgment being made by an approved sensor supplied by the FIA ​​fitted to each car;

b) position the car on the grid in such a way that the sensor cannot detect the moment at which the car first moved from its grid position after the starting signal was given; or

c) any part of front tire contact has been made outside the lines (in front and to the sides) at the starting signal.

In the specific case of Verstappen, some images left doubts whether or not the pilot was in the correct position. However, there was confirmation from the FIA ​​that no action would be taken and others that show Red Bull on the edge of positioning.

We should still see a lot of discussion on the subject in the next tests. In any case, both the FIA ​​and the drivers will redouble their attention so that this issue does not become a problem in the rest of the races.